


a break

by narcissacronin



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/M, this is literally so long and i have no explanation for myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23441092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narcissacronin/pseuds/narcissacronin
Summary: nova and adrian talk about some of the things that happened and their relationship
Relationships: Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch
Kudos: 42





	a break

**Author's Note:**

> when i started writing this i knew it was going to be a bit lengthy but i didn’t think it’d be this long so i would like to apologize for the following mess and thank anyone who actually reads all of it

Nova let the water of the shower run over her, gaze going unfocused as she stared at the wall in front of her. Her entire body ached, though it was nothing compared to some of the thoughts currently swirling around her mind. The pressure from the hot water hitting her skin started to bring about a strange sense of numbness to her limbs and she practically reveled in it. If only for a moment, she started to forget about the mess that was her life at the moment.

By the time she snapped out of her daze, she’d lost track of time. Most of the grime from the battle had already been washed off of her body, mixing with the water as it disappeared down the drain. And at some point, she had started crying, though her tears were indistinguishable from the rest of the water streaming down her body.

With a sigh, she selected one of the soap bottles at random, making a small mental note that it smelled of Adrian’s familiar pine scent. She quickly finished washing up, feeling as though she had already taken long enough.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towels Adrian had left sitting on the counter for her. Next to the towels rested a folded up pair of pants and a sweatshirt, which caught her a little off-guard.

Wrapping one of the towels around herself, she used the other to dry her hair. Once she was finished drying off, she reached for the clothes and pulled them on, briefly thinking that Adrian must have run them through the dryer for they were warm. Both the sweatshirt and sweatpants were big on her, but they were better than the alternative. Just the thought of having to put Nightmare’s costume back on sent a shiver down her spine.

Nova stepped out of the bathroom and looked around, heart pounding in her chest. It felt strange to be back in the Everhart-Westwood household, especially given all that had happened the previous times she’d been here. And the same feeling of not quite belonging was still present, though not as strong as before. It was more a feeling of awkwardness rather than hatred, though.

She nearly laughed at the absurdness of it all. Never before had she thought that she, Nova Jean Artino, would be standing in a hallway in the home of Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden with her full identity out in the open, not a secret left in her arsenal. At one point in time, the thought of still being in contact with Adrian post-reveal seemed inconceivable. Yet, here she was.

Shaking her head, she began to wonder how her life had gotten to this point. How she had gotten so lucky.

Rather than lingering over the thoughts, she continued down the hallway with a small huff and walked through the foyer to get to the narrow staircase which led down to the basement. The stairs creaked under her feet as she rushed down them, practically taking them two at a time. Nova stilled on the bottom step, though, feeling uncertain. She bit her bottom lip before stepping into Adrian’s room.

She found him sitting on his couch, gaze focused on his TV, though as she moved closer, he eventually looked up. His eyes lit up the slightest bit when they met hers, a small smile spreading on his lips.

Her heart raced as she got closer. He gestured for her to sit and she did just that, settling close to him. On the TV was a newsfeed, broadcasting something about what had happened at the cathedral, though she quickly averted her attention away from it, not wanting to think about it too much.

As Nova leaned her head against his shoulder, memories of their first kiss flooded her thoughts and she felt a small blush stain her cheeks. She instead focused on reaching for Adrian’s hand and lacing her fingers through his; how their hands fit together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle. He eventually shut off the TV and rested his head against hers.

“How’s Max?” she asked, voice barely louder than a whisper.

“He’s fine,” came Adrian’s response. “Just needs to rest for a little while. I mean, he was asleep before I even left his room.

“I’m glad to hear it, I’ve been worried about him given all that happened.”

The two fell into silence. For a second, she considered asking about his arms but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to think too much about the details of the day’s events.

“Did,” he began, slowly, breaking the silence, “did you really mean what you said to my dad back there? About—”

“Being in love with you?” she finished, words falling from her lips before she could stop them.

He nodded.

“I meant it,” she whispered, lifting her head off of his shoulder and shifting her body to face his. Taking in a deep breath she added, “I  _ love _ you, Adrian.”

A smile spread on his lips. “I love you, too, Nova,” he whispered back. Then he slipped a hand into her damp, tangled hair and kissed her. She smiled against his lips and shut her eyes before kissing him back.

The minutes wore on in a blur of messy kisses and gentle touches. Thoughts of the cathedral had slipped to the back of her mind, if only just for a moment, and she soon found herself lolled into a fragile sense of security.

But with each passing second, her sense of security started to deteriorate little by little and her thoughts started to slip. The voice of doubt in her head resurfaced, whispering to her that she wasn’t good enough for Adrian, whispering her she didn’t deserve him. At first, she managed to block out those thoughts, telling herself that today’s events obviously proved otherwise, but the negative thoughts always managed to resurface. And from there, they only continued to spiral. She tried her best to block them out, to focus on Adrian, but to no avail.

Then the gunshots started, each one louder than the last.

Three consecutive  _ bang _ s, and with them the memory of the hitman’s cold eyes, her parents’ terror, and her sister’s screams.

Nova shut her eyes harder, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. She barely swallowed her scream as she pulled back from Adrian, abruptly breaking the kiss. Her entire body shook and a single tear slipped from her eye, burning her skin as it slid down her cheek.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered, voice breaking on the last word. “I’m sorry, Adrian, but I—I can’t.”

Adrian reached for her hands, wrapping them in his. “What’s wrong?” he asked, voice filled with worry.

“Everything,” she answered, voice barely louder than a breath. She met his gaze for half a second before leaning forward and resting her head against his chest, no longer able to bite back her tears.

His arms were around her in an instant, strong and steady, the only thing keeping her tethered. He had one hand placed on her lower back, rubbing lightly, as he whispered words of comfort. Normally, she wouldn’t have let anyone see her like this, wouldn’t have allowed herself to be so vulnerable with someone, but it was  _ Adrian _ . Time and again, he had proven that she could trust him, and so she did that just now.

After a few minutes, she slowly pulled away from him, blinking away her tears.

“Adrian,” she began, drawing out his name as if testing out her voice, “I know this might seem a little random, but I think we should take a break. Stop dating for a month or two, or at least slow down a little bit.” Nova stopped talking for a second, waiting for him to interject, but he remained silent. “It’s just that we've both been through so much in the past 24 hours, and, at least for me, I know it’ll be hard to focus on our relationship while I’m working through everything.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it 

“I understand. And I completely agree, too. I think it would be for the best.”

“Good, I’m glad we agree.” She plastered a small smile to her lips. “Besides, we’ll still be friends. And it’s not like we’ll be breaking contact with each other either. I’ll always be there for you.”

“And I’ll be there for you, too. We’re going to work through this, okay?” Tears shone in his eyes and his hold on her hands had tightened the slightest bit. “Promise?”

“Promise,” she answered, fighting back tears of her own. She leaned forward and placed a small kiss to his lips, lingering a second before pulling back. “I love you, Adrian Everhart.”

“And I love you, Nova Artino.”

She smiled at him—genuine this time—and moved closer, curling up against him. He set his hand against her waist and leaned his head against hers once more. She let out a yawn and briefly shut her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder. Despite not needing sleep, she felt exhausted and wanted nothing more to curl up next to Adrian and drift off.

“Are you ready to go to sleep?” he asked, his words followed by a yawn. “I could always redraw the headphones if you want them.”

“Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll be needing the headphones. And yes, believe it or not, I am exhausted.”

“I think I know the feeling.” He stood from the couch and moved over to the side of the bed, folding back the covers. They climbed into the bed and pulled the covers back up. He took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand before turning off the lamp. Nova moved closer to him and curled up close to his side. He wrapped one arm around her middle, pressing a small kiss to the top of her head. She shut her eyes and it wasn’t long until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Nova stood in the doorway of the apartment— _ her _ apartment—and stepped inside, looking around the room. The space was small, it was only a studio after all, but it was certainly the nicest place she’d ever lived. She cringed just thinking about how much Hugh and Simon must be paying for rent.

A little over a week had passed since the events at the cathedral, or the Supernova as the media dubbed it. During that time, she had been staying at the Everhart-Westwood mansion for she had had nowhere else to go. But the situation was awkward: her relationships with Hugh and Simon still weren’t the best, and, even though she hated admitting it, her relationship with Adrian wasn’t quite the same as it used to be. It felt like they were tiptoeing around each other at times, almost as if they were afraid to get too close. So she had a lengthy discussion with Adrian and his dads, trying to find an arrangement that worked. Hugh had been the first to suggest the apartment, saying he was willing to pay for it, at least until she was back on her feet. Nova had been reluctant at first but eventually agreed.

Nova moved further into the apartment, taking a closer look at everything. It was almost fully furnished, save for a few appliances. Despite owning nothing besides a few items of clothing and therefore having nothing to move in, Adrian and Hugh had insisted upon helping her get settled. Though they hadn’t even been there for all of ten minutes, it was already glaringly obvious how useless their presence was to her. Even though she would be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful for their support.

Seemingly catching on, Hugh took one more glance around the apartment and slowly started to inch towards the door, saying, “Nova, if there’s anything else you need don’t hesitate to call. I’d be happy to help.”

She called a simple smile to her lips. “Thank you, I appreciate it. And seriously, I can’t thank you enough for this apartment.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s the least I could do,” he replied, expression falling for a brief second. “Well, if that’s everything, then I guess I’ll be heading out now.” He turned to Adrian. “I’m going to go wait in the car, but take as long as you need.”

Adrian nodded and watched as Hugh walked out, shutting the door behind himself.

While Hugh and Adrian were talking, Nova had stepped over to where a dresser sat and placed the canvas bag holding all of her clothes on top of it. After Hugh had left, she turned back to Adrian and took a few steps towards him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, glancing around the room.

Everywhere but at her.

A few days ago, they had talked about their relationship in more detail. After talking it over for a while, their break-up had become official, both deciding to take trauma counseling and waiting at least two months, then they’d see about dating again. For the time being, they had agreed to remain close friends, promising to be there for each other, whether it be to lend a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. Mostly, things seemed to be pretty normal between them, but every once in a while, there would be a small hiccup in their relationship. But both knew well enough that it wouldn’t always be easy for them and they had already accepted that fact, agreeing to work through it together. Besides, the kind of love they had for each other wasn’t something that disappeared overnight.

“Is there anything you need?” asked Adrian, sliding one hand into the pocket of his jeans.

“No, I think I’m good, but thanks anyway.” She hesitated a second before adding, “You can stick around for a little while longer, if you want to that is. I still have over an hour until I’m supposed to meet Ruby.”

“As much as I want to, I don’t want to keep Dad waiting too long. Remember, if you need something just call me.” He stepped towards the door. “Hope you have fun with Ruby.”

“I will. And the same goes to you.” She bit back a smile. “I love you, Adrian.”

“Love you, too.” 

He grinned at her, his smile so bright that if you looked close enough, you could just make out his ever elusive dimples.

And, well, Nova was looking.

She mentally chastised herself, feeling a blush bloom across her cheeks. Now was not the time for her to be fawning over Adrian.

They said their goodbyes, but just as he started to walk out of the door, he abruptly turned around and said, “Wait,” before walking over to the dresser. He pulled out his marker and set it to the top. She moved closer, trying to see what he was drawing. Seconds later, he pressed his hand to the surface and pulled a vase of monochrome flowers.

“There,” he said, capping his marker and taking a step back. “Makes the place feel a little bit homier, don’t you think?”

Nova laughed and nodded. She thanked him and then they said their goodbyes again, for real this time, and he left. She waited a few seconds before going over to the door and locking it. Mind racing, she walked back over to the dresser and put away her clothing, gaze slipping to the flower vase from time to time.

Once all of her clothes had been put away, she decided to take a good look around the small space. She made a few mental notes on some things she would need to buy from the store, such as bedsheets and pillows, all with the hope of making it feel more like  _ home _ .

But deep down, she knew that this place would never truly feel like home, although that wasn’t saying much. In truth, she had trouble recalling any point in her life where she felt  _ truly _ at home someplace. Well, besides when she was roaming the city streets at night or gazing at the stars from rooftops of abandoned buildings, or even the moments she spent with Adrian.

With a sigh, she wandered into the bathroom and decided to start getting ready. She still had quite a while until she was supposed to meet up with Ruby, though she figured she could explore downtown a bit by herself for a little while. According to Ruby, there were a few new shops which had only just recently opened up—most of which they planned to visit.

Nova stepped out of the bathroom, shut off the light, then made her way over to the door. She stepped out into the hallway, the smallest of smiles spreading over her lips. With one last glance into the apartment, she shut the door and locked it.

While this apartment may never feel like home, she knew it was someplace she could call her own and for now, at least, that was enough.

* * *

Nova met Adrian’s gaze from across the room, barely concealing her amused expression. He laughed and rolled his eyes, his gaze lingering on hers for what may have been a second too long, before turning his attention back to Oscar and Ruby.

He currently sat on the floor with Oscar and Ruby, playing a game of cards, though the game wasn’t going anywhere for Oscar and Ruby were playfully bickering over whether Oscar’s last play had been within the rules. From what Nova gathered, she was pretty sure it was but wasn’t about to say so, not wanting to get involved.

Nova tore her gaze away from Adrian and settled it on Narcissa, who sat at the end of Nova’s bed next to Danna. Nova sat cross-legged across from them, half-listening to the story Narcissa was recounting, though her thoughts were still stuck on Adrian.

Though Nova’s relationship with Danna was still a little rocky, it had vastly improved since the Supernova. Danna no longer hated her and was seemingly coming around, having already forgiven Nova for trapping one of her butterflies in a jar all those months ago. Most of the bad blood that ran between them was gone and slowly they were starting to become friends.

Not long after Nova had moved in, her apartment became a popular place for the team to hang out—not that she was complaining though. In truth, she enjoyed the company, it was them leaving that she dreaded. It only served to remind her just how lonely her little apartment truly was, especially given that she had a few extra hours a day. Over the past month or so, Oscar had become her most frequent visitor. She’d spent countless hours talking and playing video games with him. During that time, they grew surprisingly close. Adrian came over frequently, too, and on multiple occasions they had stayed up late into the night talking about anything and everything.

Narcissa continued on with her story and every so often Danna would jump in and add a comment. In the background, Nova heard Oscar and Ruby’s bickering dissolve and their regular chatter resumed. Narcissa’s story ended not long after that and they decided to join Oscar, Ruby, and Adrian’s game of cards.

Nearly half an hour later, Nova won the first round and the group quickly launched into another. Time flew by and suddenly it was nearly ten P.M. The game was cleaned up and slowly everyone started to leave, Adrian the last though he ended up lingering for over an hour after everyone else.

They talked for a little while, discussing things such as their day, then Adrian brought up his therapy session from that morning and the next thing Nova knew was he was crying.

Nova reached for his hands, threading her fingers through his. He leaned his head against her shoulder and squeezed her hand. Whispering words of comfort, she settled her other hand onto his back. For the longest time, they stayed like that. Eventually, though, Adrian pulled away with a sniffle and swiped at his eyes, slowly pulling his hand from hers. Once he had composed himself, they ended up talking about something else for a few more minutes. Their conversation came to an end not long after when he announced he needed to get home after looking at the time.

They stood and said their goodbyes, Adrian’s fingers brushing against her arm. The touch sent a spark through nerves and for a brief second, she was tempted to reach for his hand again but resisted the urge.

He moved over to the door and opened it, though he hesitated in the doorway and turned to face.

“You’re going to be at headquarters tomorrow, right?” he asked, a hesitant smile on his lips.

Nova nodded. “I’ll see you there,” she said, unable to hold back a smile of her own.

Adrian dashed one more of his charming smiles at her before leaving. She locked the door behind him and leaned against it, shutting her eyes for the briefest of seconds.

Just like that, she found herself alone again.

* * *

Adrian shifted again, rolling onto his back. He shut his eyes, willing sleep to come. Another hour passed in a blur and yet, he still felt wide awake. With a sigh, he reached for his nightstand and found his phone. Squinting at the screen, he thumbed through the contacts and found Nova’s. His thumb hovered over the call button for the fraction of a second before he pressed it. The phone rang for a few seconds and he was just about to hang up when the ringing sound was replaced with Nova’s voice.

“Hello?” she said, the slightest hint of worry in her tone. “Adrian, is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s just...I can’t fall asleep and I figured you would be up. Sorry if I am interrupting anything.”

“No, no. I was just working on an invention. But I was about to take a break anyway.” She paused for a long second, then asked, “Is something on your mind?”

“A lot.” He sighed and rolled onto his side, phone pressed to his ear. “What are you working on?”

She went into a long description of her latest gadget, some of which boggled his mind. While she spoke, he couldn’t help but picture her hunched over her workspace, nose scrunched up as she trained all of her focus onto the invention with her hair pulled into a messy ponytail, her tools spread out beside her. Once she finished her explanation, he let out an interested, “Huh.”

They soon fell into a small bout of silence, with only the occasional sound of a slightly muffled  _ clink _ as Nova set down one of her tools.

After thinking it over for a few seconds, Adrian finally decided to bring up the subject of dating, which had been on his mind for the past week. Over two months had passed since their break-up and he felt as though he were ready to pick things back up—so long as she was too.

“Nova?” he finally said, voice barely above a whisper.

“Hmm?”

“I’ve been thinking and I...I think that I’m ready to start dating again. Though if you’re not ready yet, I totally understand and don’t mind waiting.”

She was silent for a brief moment. Then, “I think I’m ready, too.”

At those simple words, his smile brightened and he felt his heartbeat quicken.

“And you know,” he said, “we’ve never had an actual,  _ real _ date. I mean, unless you count Cosmopolis Park or the gala, which I don’t think is very fair.”

“You’re right.” She laughed. “I guess we should remedy that soon, huh?” Adrian couldn’t help but notice a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“Agreed.” He hesitated a second before adding, “Why not tonight? I’m wide awake anyway. And I know a place near headquarters that’s open all night. I actually brought you sandwiches from there once—well, tried to at least.”

She laughed again and said, “It’s a date.”

Half an hour later, he picked her up at her apartment and drove her there. They talked and ate for over an hour, time flying by. It was past two A.M. by the time they arrived back at her apartment, though he ended hanging around for about half an hour after dropping her off.

“Just stay for the night,” said Nova, leaning up to press another small kiss to his lips. “Truly, I don’t mind.”

Adrian hesitated a second more before caving. He was starting to feel a little tired after all, and driving probably wasn’t the best idea.

Minutes later, they ended up curled together in her bed, Nova’s head resting against his chest and his arms around her. It didn’t take long for him to drift off, all worries that had been clouding his mind earlier that night suddenly forgotten.


End file.
